Happy Birthday!
by BehindBlueEyes143
Summary: It's Soda's birthday and Steve has planned a little surprise party for him, with the help of the rest of the gang.


Happy Birthday!

By: midnightlove143

"Oh Soda, you doll!"

Yep, that's how it always goes. My best friend Sodapop, the doll, the one with the movie star looks. See now, most people would think that that bothers me, but it doesn't. Soda and I have been friends way too long for stuff like that.

I listened, laughing to myself, as the owners of the car I was working on giggled loudly. Soda always has that effect on girls. After I finished pumping their gas, they were off. My best friend strolled over to me, clutching a small piece of paper in his hand.

"Got a number?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Soda nodded and grinned. "Pretty good start to your special day, huh buddy?" Soda looked confused, cocking his head to the side inquisitively.

"Soda, it's your birthday," I said.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot," he said, smacking his forehead. I rolled my eyes. _Good, _I thought, _he definitely has no idea about the surprise party if he can't even remember it's his own birthday._

The rest of the day carried on as usual. Soda flirted with girls while I worked on their cars. That's our system, if you can call it one. I fix the cars and Soda keeps them coming back. Night was falling when our shift finally ended.

"Let's get out of here, I'm starving," I said after we had finished up our last customer. I began to walk back toward the gas station building. Soda followed and after splitting the contents of the tip jar between the two of us, we left for his house.

Upon arrival, I got out of the car and rushed around to the other side, where Soda was jumping out. I shut his door and pushed him forward.

"Hurry up, would ya?" I said, grinning. _This is gonna be good._

We reached the door and I pushed past him to block his entrance. Kicking the door lightly with my foot to alert the guys inside of our presence, I chanced a glance over my shoulder at my buddy. He looked confused. And cold.

"What are ya doin'? Open the door, it's freezin' out here!" he said. He rubbed his arms with his hands and looked past me towards the door. Suddenly, the lights in a nearby window went out, and I knew it was time to go in.

"Alright, alright, no need to get your underwear in a twist," I said and opened the door, leading the way into the dim house.

"Geez, why's it so dark in here?" he called as he stumbled over the step in the doorway. "Hit the switch!"

I did and the room suddenly shone bright as day. Three guys jumped up from their hiding spots and yelled, "SURPRISE!" as loud as they could. Soda nearly jumped right out of his skin and he let out some kind of little yelp. I had to laugh and once I started, I couldn't stop. The rest of the guys were laughing as well, except for Soda. He looked like he was still in shock, panting and clutching his chest like he had just had a heart attack.

Darry, the biggest and oldest out of all of us, finally recovered enough to walk over to Soda. He clapped his kid brother lightly on the back and grinned. Soda looked up at him realization dawning on his face. He broke into a sudden smile.

"You guys almost gave me a heart attack!" he said. Looking at me he said, "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Knew about it?" Two-Bit yelled. "Why he about planned the whole dang thing!" He stumbled over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. He swayed on his feet and it was obvious that he had already started partying hours ago. There was an open bottle in his hand and several empties were scattered nearby.

I smiled and glanced around the room. The guys had done a good job decorating. There were multi-colored streamers strung along the ceiling and a banner with the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SODAPOP!" written in large blue letters. The coffee table had been draped in a white table cloth and was covered in plates of delicious-looking food. The thing that caught my eye in particular was a big plate of chocolate cake, courtesy of Two-Bit's mother. There were also some presents piled in a corner. One was wrapped and the other was contained in a plastic bag. I suddenly remembered my own present and ran out to the car to get it.

My present was wrapped in an old newspaper I had found in my dad's closet. It wasn't much really, just an Oklahoma State tee-shirt I had bought. Eh, it's the thought that counts, right?

I returned and placed my present in the corner with the others. Looking around, I saw that Darry was lighting the candles on the chocolate cake. There were twenty of them. I often forgot just how old we all actually were. The most unbelievable thing was that Ponyboy was eighteen. He had gotten a scholarship for his grades and for track and Darry and Soda had insisted he take it instead of staying home to help pay the bills. Darry had missed his opportunity and he wasn't about to let Ponyboy skip out on a chance like that.

Soda sported a big grin as Pony laid the cake down in front of him. Pony and Darry began to sing "Happy Birthday", but were cut off by Two-Bit.

"Steve and I have a special song to sing," he slurred, putting his arm across my shoulders. I rolled my eyes but smiled and began to sing along with Two-Bit.

_Call my buddy Sodapop,_

_ Tell ya why,_

_ He's a pretty tuff-lookin' guy,_

_ And when he's fightin', no need to spare a glance,_

_ Cause the Socs haven't got a chance._

We continued into the familiar chorus, replacing "Sodapop" in as needed. When we finished, Soda and Pony exchanged a glance. They busted into a fit of laughter and Two-Bit, Darry, and I did as well. We eventually regained our composure and Soda blew out his candles.

"What did you wish for?" Pony asked, sitting down next to Soda on the couch. Darry had begun to cut the cake into pieces and distribute them.

"Now, if I tell you, it won't come true, now will it?" Soda smiled and took the cake Darry offered him. We all wolfed our cake down as soon as we got our hands on it and soon there was nothing left on the plate except for the birthday candles, which had been licked clean by Two-Bit.

"Present time!" Pony yelled. He stood and walked to pile of presents in the corner. He gathered them in his arms and carried them back to Soda.

"Oh, oh! Open mine first!" Two-Bit shouted and he jumped up. Racing over, he perched himself on the arm of the sofa next to Soda.

"Okay, which one is it?"

"That one," Two-Bit said, pointing excitedly at the gift in the plastic bag. Pony handed Soda the bag. Two-Bit wore a huge grin as he watched Soda open the gift. Soda reached into the bag and pulled out a Mickey Mouse figurine that was about the size of his palm. He smiled and held it up for everybody to see.

"Thanks Two-Bit," he said with a grin.

"Me next!" I said and jumped over the back of the couch, landing gracefully in between Two-Bit and Soda. I grabbed the newspaper covered package and handed it to Soda. He took it and tore the paper off, lifting up the shirt with a smile.

"Thanks buddy! I'm gonna put it on now!" He slipped of his DX vest and pulled the shirt on. "How do I look?" he asked, standing up. Two-Bit wolf-whistled and we all laughed.

"Yeah, yeah you look stunning," Darry said over our cheers and laughter. "Now open mine and Pony's present. You're really gonna like it. You will too Steve."

Soda and I exchanged a puzzled glance as Pony dropped the present into Soda's lap. He ripped the paper eagerly and threw the top off of the box. His look of excitement was replaced by another puzzled look.

"What is it Darry?" he asked. I peered into the box and saw only a piece of paper. I reached in and pulled it out, furrowing my brow in confusion. Two-Bit plucked it from my hands and looked it over. His eyes widened in astonishment and his mouth dropped open.

"Darry!" he exclaimed. "How did you get this?" Before Darry could reply, Soda cut in.

"Wait, wait… What is it?" he said.

"It's a piece of paper that gives you and Steve full ownership of the DX!" Two-Bit said. My mouth dropped open and Soda and I looked at each other.

"So wait…" I said, slowly. "We own our own gas station?" Darry and Pony nodded, both of them beaming. It took a moment before what Two-Bit had said finally sank in. _Soda and I own a gas station. Our very own gas station._ I thought.

Soda's puzzled look was suddenly replaced by a huge grin. He jumped up and hugged Pony and Darry. I stood and hugged them too, then high-fived Soda.

"Gee Steve, this sure makes our presents look great, huh?" Two-Bit said sarcastically. He cracked a smile and clapped both Soda and me on the back.

"But wait, how'd ya get Ol' Jeff to hand it over?" I asked.

"Well he was retirin' soon anyway and y'all are his favorite employees. He ain't got any kids, so I guess he figured you were the next best thing," Pony said.

"Wow, this is amazing. Thank you so much," I said. Soda agreed and we sat down to admire our gift.

That night, as I made a make shift bed for myself on the couch, Soda came out into the living room. I turned and smiled at him.

"Night buddy," Soda said. He put his hand on my shoulder and shook it.

"Night," I said and lay down on the sofa. I reached up to flick the light switch and Soda began to walk back to the hallway. He stopped and turned, grinning from ear to ear.

"Tomorrow we go to work as our own bosses."


End file.
